Deep dive into CIO pay packages

To find out how much CIOs at giant global companies really earn, we scoured the proxy statements of the 500 largest U.S. companies and found 25 that disclosed CIO pay. Here are the details on their 2015 pay packages, organized from lowest to highest paid.

To see all the data in one place, check out our sortable chart of CIO compensation. See the last slide for details about how we compiled the data.

Jason Buechel, EVP and CIO, Whole Foods Market

Jason Buechel, who joined Whole Foods Market in 2013, is responsible for all aspects of IT at Whole Foods Market. He was promoted to the company’s executive leadership team in July 2015. Buechel oversees the global technology team in Austin, Texas, and the company’s 12 regional offices located across the U.S. and in the United Kingdom.

Michael Guggemos, CIO, Insight Enterprises

After 10 years with the U.S. Army, Michael Guggemos left the military in 1994 for Motorola, where his first job was assembling cellphones on the night shift in Libertyville, Illinois. He worked his way up to corporate vice president of IT for Motorola before joining Insight Enterprises as CIO in 2010. Guggemos’ 2014 pay package, valued at $948,933, is up 9% compared to $872,096 in 2014.

Lance Berberian, SVP and CIO, LabCorp

Lance Berberian earned a $1.1 million last year as CIO of LabCorp, an $8.7 billion healthcare diagnostics company. His pay package included a $373,625 salary, $199,012 bonus, stock awards valued at $519,977, and $20,312 in perks and other compensation. Berberian has been LabCorp's CIO since early 2014. His prior experience includes CIO roles at IDEXX Laboratories, Interim HealthCare and Quest Diagnostics.

Elizabeth Hackenson, SVP and CIO, AES Corp

Elizabeth Hackenson is responsible for shared services including IT, cybersecurity, insurance programs and internal audit at the $15 billion global power company. Before joining AES in 2008, she led technology operations for Alcatel-Lucent. Her $1.3 million pay package fell 2% compared to a year earlier.

Therace Risch, EVP and CIO, JCPenney

Therace Risch was named EVP and CIO of JCPenney last December. She joined the $12.6 billion retailer from COUNTRY Financial and succeeded Scott Laverty. As part of her employment agreement, Risch received a one-time cash signing bonus of $500,000 and a one-time equity award that will vest over a four-year period. JCPenney also paid $23,100 for Risch’s relocation benefits.

John Tonnison, EVP and CIO, Tech Data

Tech Data CIO John Tonnison recently expanded his role at the $27.7 billion distributor. Last July, he took on responsibility for the company's cloud business. Tonnison continues to serve as the company's CIO, a position he has held since 2009. In 2015, his pay climbed 15% to $1.5 million.

Dale Asplund, SVP and CIO, United Rentals

Dale Asplund’s total compensation fell 19% to $1.7 million, compared to $2.1 million in 2014. Asplund has been with United Rentals since 1998; he was promoted to SVP of business services in 2011 and named CIO in 2012.

Chad Lindbloom, CIO, C.H. Robinson

C.H. Robinson’s top tech chief forged a path from CFO to CIO. Chad Lindbloom began his career at the $13.5 billion logistics services provider as a staff accountant in 1990, and he spent 15 years as the company’s CFO before being named CIO in January 2015. His pay package, valued at $1.7 million, was up 5% compared to the prior year.

Jon Stevens, SVP and CIO, CDW

A 19% boost brought Jon Stevens’ 2015 pay package to $1.9 million, compared to $1.6 million a year earlier. Stevens is responsible for IT at CDW, as well as the $13 billion company’s distribution centers, transportation, facilities, customer relations, and operational excellence practices. He joined CDW in 2001 and was promoted to his current role in 2009.

Scott Laverty, former EVP and CIO, JCPenney

Former CIO Scott Laverty left JCPenney last October. His pay package, worth $2.1 million, included his $473,333 salary, $553,449 bonus, equity awards valued at $1 million, and $50,240 for accrued but unpaid vacation. The company’s proxy statement notes that Laverty also received severance benefits in the amount of $1,295,455, which were paid following the end of fiscal year 2015, as well as vesting of equity awards previously granted to him.

Keith Rohland, CIO, US Foods

Keith Rohland leads all IT functions, including strategy, systems development, infrastructure and program management, at US Foods. He joined the $23 billion foodservice distributor in 2011 from Citigroup.

Cindy Earhart, EVP and CIO, Norfolk Southern

Cindy Earhart was promoted to CIO of Norfolk Southern following the retirement of Deborah Butler in October of last year. Earhart joined the $10.5 billion railroad in 1985 as supervisor of subsidiary accounting. She served in multiple accounting and IT positions before being named vice president of human resources in 2007 and executive vice president of administration in 2013.

Dave Barnes, former CIO and global business services officer, UPS

Dave Barnes started working at UPS as a part-time package loader in 1977 and worked his way up through the ranks, taking on the CIO role in 2005. He retired in 2016 after 38 years with the company. In his last full year at UPS, Barnes earned a $2.7 million pay package, a decrease of 34% compared to his 2014 pay.

Wayne Shurts, EVP and CTO, Sysco

Wayne Shurts joined Sysco in late 2012 in the role of EVP and CTO. Shurts’ 2015 compensation, worth $2.7 million, is up 14% compared to 2014, when he earned $2.4 million. Before joining the $49 billion food distribution company, Shurts held CIO roles at Supervalu and Cadbury Schweppes.

Pawan Verma, SVP and CIO, Foot Locker

Pawan Verma was appointed SVP and CIO of Foot Locker last August. When he joined the $7.4 billion specialty athletic retailer, Verma received a $300,000 sign-on bonus and perks including a $49,113 relocation payment and $30,983 tax gross-up. Before joining Foot Locker, Verma served as vice president, digital and marketing technologies and services platforms, at Target.

Martha Poulter, EVP and CIO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

Martha Poulter leads a global IT team across Starwood’s nine brands and operational platforms. She joined the $5.8 billion hotel company in 2014, after spending 18 years with GE Capital. Her $3.3 million pay package is down 27% compared to 2014, when she earned $4.6 million.

Matt Carey, EVP and CIO, The Home Depot

Home Depot CIO Matt Carey took home a pay package worth $3.8 million last year, a gain of 4% compared to $3.6 million in 2014. Carey, who joined The Home Depot in 2008, oversees all aspects of the company’s IT infrastructure and software development, including communication networks, approximately 90 supply chain distribution centers, and retail systems across the company’s 2,200-plus stores and store support centers. He’s also responsible for IT strategy across the retailer’s stores, online presence, and supply chain.

Rob Carter, EVP, FedEx Information Services, and CIO, FedEx

Rob Carter’s $4 million compensation was down 19% compared to his 2014 package, which was valued at $4.9 million. A big part of the decline can be traced to his performance-based bonus, which was $395,793 in 2015 compared to $1.8 million a year earlier. Carter’s perks and compensation extras – valued at $522,364 – included security services and equipment ($38,836), financial counseling services ($28,182), tax preparation services ($2,850), and a $437,506 tax reimbursement payment.

Deborah Butler, former EVP and CIO, Norfolk Southern

After 37 years with the railroad, Deborah Butler retired last October. Butler joined Norfolk Southern in 1978 as a customer account auditor and worked her way up through the ranks, ascending to CIO in 2007. In her last year with the company, she earned a pay package valued at $4 million, which included her $450,00 salary; equity awards valued at $1.4 million; $1.2 million attributed to a change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings; a severance payment of $853,846; and a $34,483 payment made upon her retirement for unused vacation.

Tyler Best, EVP and CIO, Hertz Global Holdings

Tyler Best was named CIO of Hertz Global Holdings in January of last year. As part of his employment agreement, Best received a one-time cash bonus of $2 million to replace awards forfeited at his former employer. Best’s $6.6 million pay package also included: a $780,000 performance-based bonus, and stock and option awards valued at $3.1 million. Among the perks Best received was $66,772 that Hertz paid to cover lodging and transportation expenses for travel between Best’s home in Michigan and the company’s headquarters in Florida. His past experience includes senior IT roles at Vanguard Car Rental (Alamo and National brands) and at Budget Rent-a-Car.

Philip Fasano, EVP and CIO, AIG

Philip Fasano earned both the highest salary among the CIOs included in our tally and the largest cash bonus. His 2015 compensation, worth $8.4 million, included his $1 million salary, a one-time bonus of $3.4 million that AIG paid to make up for compensation foregone from his former employer, and a $1 million installment paid as part of a “transition award” related to retirement benefits foregone from his former employer. AIG also picked up the tab for $112,911 in housing expenses related to Fasano’s relocation, including utilities and rent, plus $116,456 representing the reimbursement of taxes owed on his temporary living expenses.

Fasano joined AIG in October 2014 from Kaiser Permanente, where he was EVP and CIO. Fasano has also held IT leadership roles at financial services organizations including Capital One Financial, where he was the business information officer, and JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Financial Services, where he served as CIO.

Mike McNamara, EVP and CIO, Target

Hired as CIO in February of 2015, Mike McNamara oversees Target’s technology team and long-term IT roadmap for the $73.8 billion retailer’s stores, online and mobile assets, distribution centers and headquarters. The bulk of his $10 million pay package was tied to stock awards, valued at $8 million. His cash compensation included a $750,000 sign-on bonus, $468,462 salary, and $432,100 in performance-based cash bonuses. Target also paid $271,229 in relocation costs for McNamara. Before joining Target, McNamara spent 17 years at European-based retailer Tesco, where he most recently served as CIO.

Tim Theriault, former EVP and global CIO, Walgreens Boots Alliance

The largest pay package among the 25 went to Tim Theriault, who stepped down last June from his position as global CIO for Walgreens Boots Alliance. He continues to serve as a consultant and advisor to the company on a range of issues, including cyber security. Theriault’s $13.6 million compensation package includes a giant parting payment of $8.5 million, as per his employment agreement.

Behind the numbers

We examined the proxy statements of the 500 largest U.S. companies (according to Fortune's ranking) and found 25 that disclosed CIO pay. Each of these CIOs is among the top earners at his or her company. But that doesn't mean they are the highest paid CIOs in the U.S.

Because of the rules of financial reporting, most companies don’t disclose how much their CIO is paid. A publicly-traded company is only required to disclose information concerning the amount and type of compensation paid to its CEO, CFO, and three other most highly compensated executive officers. If a CIO or senior IT leader ranks among a company's three most highly paid executives, his or her compensation is reported in the organization's proxy statement. A CIO might have earned a multimillion-dollar pay package, but if more than three executives at the company topped that amount, that IT leader's pay is not disclosed. There are undoubtedly higher paid CIOs whose compensation is not publicly reported.

If available, we included prior-year compensation for CIOs. Prior-year data isn’t available for CIOs who were not in their current roles or were not among the company's most highly compensated officers in 2014.